Seun Kuti, an Afrobeat singer, claims that police officers are the primary culprits of abduction in Nigeria.
Seun was caught last year after being filmed punching a police officer on the Third Mainland Bridge.
The musician was detained to the state criminal investigation department (SCID) in Panti, Yaba.
In a recent Instagram live session, Seun shared his experience in police custody, stating that he was kept in cell one alongside “hardened criminals”.
The musician claimed that “there were police in all of the kidnapping groups inside cell 1 with me”.
He further said that the “largest group of kidnappers in Nigeria are the police.”
Seun defined kidnapping as being apprehended against one’s will and requesting to be released in exchange for money.
The 41-year-old musician compared “police bail to the ransom payments usually demanded by kidnappers”.
He claimed that if people are compelled to pay for their freedom, they are kidnapped by the police.
“When the Nigerian police put me in cell 1 Panti they thought they did me bad but now I can expose the things I found out inside the cell,” he told reporters.
“I discovered that all of the kidnapping groups in cell 1 with me have police inside. In truth, the police are the ringleaders.
“There is no bunch of kidnappers inside the cell with me unless a police officer has been detained. The police have either been arrested or are still searching for them.
“All of us were in the cell together. Nigerian police officers are the most prolific kidnappers.
“What exactly does it mean to be kidnapped?” Someone carries you against your will, and someone else pays for your release.
“The kidnappers demanded a ransom, but the police demanded bail. Bail is merely formal and free; you should not pay for it. So, giving the police money is not bail; it is ransom.
